Soccer/Rugby Feud

Discussion in 'England Rivalries' started by Makandal, May 2, 2008.

  1. Makandal

    Makandal Member

    Apr 21, 2007
    Cambridge, MA (USA)
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    Haiti
    I was reading on Wikipedia that Wigan Athletic (Soccer) and Wigan Warriors supporters (Rugby) have some kind of feud going on. Any other similar feud between soccer and rugby clubs in England? What are the places in England where Rugby is big enough for such feud to be of notable importance?
     
  2. batch

    batch New Member

    May 27, 2005
    Wigan
    Club:
    Wigan Athletic FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    In Hull i think there is a similar situation between Hull City and Hull FC ("FC" being the rugby club)
     
  3. GranCanMan

    GranCanMan Member

    Jan 12, 2007
    Manchester
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    There is a rivalry in some areas due to the two sports being prominent. I think it's a class thing, in some areas.

    Rugby is a seen as a middle class sport where as football is very much the working class game. Clashes are inevitable.
     
  4. wiganer1

    wiganer1 New Member

    Mar 9, 2009
    Club:
    Wigan Athletic FC


    Rugby union is seen as middle class sport , the wigan wariors play rugby league which is more popular in the north of england.
     
  5. thetoffees

    thetoffees New Member

    Aug 12, 2009
    Club:
    Everton FC
    Hull and Wigan are rare cases as they have both been seen as tradiotnal rugby towns with the football clubs spending most of the history in the lower divisions.

    However with their rise to the Premier League it is perhaps no surprise a rivalry has developed.

    Most other areas seem to be one or the other, eg Warrington and St Helens= rugby, Liverpool and Manchester = football
     
  6. 'appy Addick

    'appy Addick New Member

    Dec 23, 2009
    Portsmouth
    Club:
    Charlton Athletic FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    I don't think rugby clubs go in for rivalries with exponents of "The Round Ball Game", as they call it. Certainly, if a fist fight were to break out between rugby men and footballers, there would be only one winner.

    Generally speaking, rugby men are above such things. They have nothing to prove to anybody about their physicality or their ability. They just get on with their game and let footballers do their thing.

    Perhaps some rivalries exist amongst fans of the two differing codes of Football, but these are isolated incidents. Mostly, football and rugby fans get on just fine. The most notable case of rugby and football fans happily co-existing is in Leicester. Leicester Tigers (rugby) are far more successful than their footballing counterparts but the public of the city are equally as supportive of both.

    Other places where football and rugby get along just fine are Harlequins with Chelsea & Fulham. London Irish with Reading. Saracens with Watford. Wasps with Wycombe. Sale Sharks with Stockport County.

    Widespread animosity between rugby and football in England...?

    Nah..!!

    .
     
  7. Devil_78

    Devil_78 Member

    May 7, 2001
    Kashiwazaki, Japan
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Is there rivalry in England over Football and Rugby (both codes)? Not really. Not nationwide. The rivalry only kicks in where the two sports share a relatively high profile. Wigan Warriors have enjoyed a great deal of success in their town and have built quite the following, whilst the Athletic are relative newcomers on the scene. Hull, too. Their Rugby sides have enjoyed success, whilst their football team has seen relatively little. In those two towns, the sports enjoy comparative popularity, and this will lead to a great deal of friction.

    Harlequins rub along OK with Chelsea and Fulham on 2 grounds. 1, they are nowhere near the size of Fulham, and Chelsea is in another galaxy! Also, there is the history of the games themselves.

    Football is supposedly "working class" in its roots, whilst Rugby Union is decidedly "middle class" in origin.

    However, there is the potential for a lot more friction between Rugby League and Football because both games share the same "working class" origin.

    Also, Football is the oldest game, and most well-established. Rugby Union came along not much later, and effectively filled in the gaps left by Football. Both geographically, and socio-economically.

    Rugby League is the youngest, and has had to fight tooth and nail to carve out its own niche. Basically by chiseling territory from both of the other games.

    I think England is unique in having so many games that are so popular in such close proximity. Yes, in the US you have the Yankees, Mets, Rangers, Islanders, Nets, Nicks, Giants and Jets. But New York is a major city with a large population that can support them all.

    England has many teams representing many sports located in cities and small towns all over the place!
     
  8. Placid Casual

    Placid Casual Member+

    Apr 2, 2004
    Bentley's Roof
    No we are not supportive of both. People are either football or egg chasing. There are a few odd people who go to both but there is no love between the two sports/teams.
     

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